Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Acceptance or Denial. This is a hard part about Alzheimer's. Some family members may accept that their loved one has this disease, while others will be in denial. For this loved on with the disease are they aware they have this disease or oblivious. Are they having trouble remembering or are they having a defense mechanism of the denial themselves. Some people with Alzheimer's Disease may be quite aware of their problem and feel relieved to find out that their forgetfulness is due to this disease. But a lot of them are between awareness of this disease and oblivious of it. That is because the disease has an on again and off again pattern. One day the loved one can be doing real good and the next be forgetful. Whether or not the loved one with this disease accepts or denies having it doesn't matter, because they have no control over the matter. So it is up to us to be there for them and re-assure them.

I hope that my book helps you see how this disease affects our family and gives you an idea what to expect. Also I hope this book will help you make the right decision to whether you will be the care giver or someone else.

Sincerely,
Marie Fostino
Alzheimer's A Caregivers Journal
Seaboard Press An Imprint of James A Rock & Co., Pub
www.mariefostino.com

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Good Evening, I thought I would go over the General Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease:
Stage 1:
gradual short-term memory loss
losing and hiding things
wandering
experiences emotional changes
displays odd and inappropriate behavior
tends to be suspicious and /or accusing
Stage 2:
severe memory loss
difficulty speaking
difficulty communicating
restlessness
easily agitated
bad hygiene practices
tendency to wander and/or get lost
"sun-downing"
sleep disturbances
behaving childishly
hallucinating
resents caregivers
displays anger
clinging behavior
Stage 3:
severe speech impairment
displays very little awareness of surroundings
extreme loss of mental functions
refuses to eat
displays complete dependency
incontinence
inability to preform most activities
If your loved one is showing these signs, please get them tested and put on the right medicine to try and slow this disease before it takes their mind completely away. But remember that Alzheimer's unfortunately will take their mind away. So just show them that you love them.

Sincerely,
Marie Fostino
Alzheimer's A Caretakers Journal
Seaboard Press An Imprint of James A. Rock & Co., Pubs.
www.mariefostino.com